We are pleased to have our major social event of the Annual Meeting, the Dinner, at the Museum of Flight. The Museum of Flight is the largest independent, non-profit air and space museum in the world! With over 175 aircraft and spacecraft, tens of thousands of artifacts, millions of rare photographs, dozens of exhibits and experiences and a world-class library, the Museum and its people bring mankind’s incredible history of flight to life (https://www.museumofflight.org/About-Us/). Because there is so much to see at the Museum of Flight, we will leave the Hyatt at 3:30 PM so you can start your adventure. (ASPE will provide round-trip transportation from the Hyatt Regency Bellevue to The Museum of Flight.)

Prior to dinner, can explore the many galleries and exhibits in the Museum. In addition, we are fortunate to have a Museum of Flight board member speak to our group. The Dinner will be catered by McCormick & Schmick’s, a fine restaurant specializing in seafood and steaks, in the T.A. Wilson Great Gallery, a six-story glass-enclosed space featuring many aircraft, including the iconic Blackbird spy plane. ASPE guests can take advantage of a 10% discount in the Museum’s store.

The Museum of Flight is a huge museum that will take much more time than we have on Wednesday night to explore. The Museum will offer tickets at a discounted rate to our group if you would like to return on Saturday, October 15. You can purchase tickets when you register for the conference.

Museum of Flight CEO Matt Hayes will be our guest speaker for the evening. Matt joined the staff of the Museum of Flight in March 2006. However he really began his involvement with the Museum in 2000 as a B-17 restoration volunteer – something he did until the aircraft went on display in 2009. Hayes has held many posts, from Controller to Vice President of Finance and Administration and CFO to Executive Vice President. In his current role as President and CEO, Hayes is responsible for directing the museum’s long-term strategic planning process and ensuring that the Museum reaches its vision of becoming the foremost educational air and space museum in the world.

Just like his passion of aviation, Matt has also been equally passionate about education. From 2002 to 2006, Hayes worked as the CFO for Alliance for Education in Seattle. Prior to that, he worked for Deloitte and Touche, at the Philadelphia office from 1993 to 1995, and then in Seattle from 1995 to 2002.

Hayes grew up in the rural western New York town of Byron, attended Villanova University, and moved to Seattle in 1995.

Hayes has served on multiple non-profit boards and is active in the community.

As a pilot, Hayes has his Private, Commercial, Instrument, and Seaplane ratings.